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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27858017">Lighting Candles</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/robindrake93/pseuds/robindrake93'>robindrake93</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Fluffcember 2020 [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Percy Jackson and the Olympians &amp; Related Fandoms - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Candles, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Kissing, POV Third Person, Rachel Is The Oracle, Romantic Fluff, Short One Shot</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 23:08:11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,104</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27858017</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/robindrake93/pseuds/robindrake93</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Percy goes to Rachel's cave and they make candles together to liven the place up.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Rachel Elizabeth Dare/Percy Jackson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Fluffcember 2020 [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2035222</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>22</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Lighting Candles</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Percy and Rachel are 18. </p><p>Don't reupload/repost my fics.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Rachel was surrounded by steel pots filled with liquid wax of dozens of colors. The pots were kept warm via a series of electric warmers. It made the temperature in her cave rather warm compared to the freezing temperatures outside. In fact it was so warm that Rachel only wore a light sweater. 

</p><p>     The stomping of boots drew Rachel’s attention to the entrance of her cave. The glittery golden drapes over the entrance - for privacy and temperature control - moved aside to reveal Percy. He wore a heavy jacket, snow boots, and knit cap. His face was pale with cold. “You would think that if they can keep the snow out, they would moderate the temperature,” Percy complained. 

</p><p>     Rachel smiled at him. She may have been the Oracle but even she agreed that the gods were idiots. Apollo didn’t even think of climate control when he willed her cave into existence. Some heat outside in winter would be nice, considering that they stopped the snow and rain from falling. “At least you didn’t have to walk uphill in the snow both ways.” 

</p><p>     Percy grinned back at her. It was a grin that always made Rachel’s stomach flutter. “I’m glad it’s warm in here. Now I can take all this stuff off.” He pulled off his boots and coat, leaving the hat on. Beneath the coat, he wore a sweater the same pine green color as hers. It made his eyes look almost blue. Percy sat down beside Rachel in the center of the pots of wax. He peered into the nearest pots and nodded approval. “I’m digging the blues.”

</p><p>     There were five shades of blue. Rachel mixed them specifically because she knew Percy would like it. “I thought you would.” 

</p><p>     Percy grinned at her then leaned over and kissed her cheek. 

</p><p>     He never smiled so much as when they were together and it made Rachel’s heart fill with warm affection. She turned her face and caught the corner of his mouth with hers. Before they could really get going, Rachel drew back. “Did you bring what I asked?” 

</p><p>     Percy looked at her lips with open longing then lifted his gaze to meet her eyes. “Yup. One hundred washers.” He took a bag from his pocket and showed them off. 

</p><p>     Rachel accepted the bag from him. “Thank you, sir.” 

</p><p>     “You’re welcome, ma’am,” Percy replied. 

</p><p>     She opened the bag and selected a washer. Then Rachel took a wick from a pile next to her. She tied the washer to the end of a wick. 

</p><p>     After watching her for a moment, Percy joined in. Together they split the work between them, tying the weights to the wicks. They made small talk while they worked; comments about the weather inside and outside of Camp, theories about the disappearance of Dionysus during the cold months, speculation on what friends and family were doing for the holidays. 

</p><p>     “Ready for some candle dipping?” Rachel asked when their supplies were ready. 

</p><p>     Percy picked up a wick. “So I just dip it in the wax?” 

</p><p>     Rachel nodded. She demonstrated with the pot of red wax, dipping it in almost up to her fingertips. She held it there for a few seconds, then pulled it out. After four seconds during which the wax hardened, she plunged the candle into a bucket of cold water. Then she dipped it in the red wax again to build up another layer. 

</p><p>     Percy observed closely, then he tried it himself. Naturally he chose the blues to do first, dipping his weighted wick into the palest shade of blue. The blue was so light it was nearly white. Percy waited for it to harden and dipped it into cold water. He went through the shades of blue from lightest to darkest and finally hung the candle from a rack with a clothespin on the wick. “This is cool,” he said. 

</p><p>     Rachel smiled, happy every time that Percy took an interest in whatever art project she was working on. “I’m glad you think so because we have a lot of candles to make.” When she judged her red candle to be thick enough, Rachel hung it up to dry too. 

</p><p>     Percy finished another candle, this time dark blue fading to pale blue. After he hung it up, he leaned over and kissed Rachel’s cheek. He started on another one. 

</p><p>     It took a few candles for Rachel to realize that Percy was kissing her every time that he finished a candle. She timed it so that they finished at the same time and when he leaned over to kiss her cheek, Rachel turned her face so that their lips met. 

</p><p>     Percy made a surprised but pleased noise. He was smiling when he pulled away. 

</p><p>     Kissing Percy made Rachel fill with warmth from her head to her toes. She couldn’t wait until this Oracle gig was over and they could have penetrative sex. Until then, there were other ways to satisfy their hormones. But for now, they were making candles. 

</p><p>     It started off as fun but by the time they got halfway done, the game of candle dipping had become significantly less fun and a lot more tedious. They were both dipping candles with color patterns they’d done before and sometimes didn’t even bother to do multiple colors. 

</p><p>     “How long until they can be used?” Percy asked. He was dipping his wick into a glittery golden wax. 

</p><p>     “They need to dry overnight. Then we cut off the weights and dip the bottoms and after that dries, we can light them,” Rachel explained. She was determined to finish the project because the end result would be worth it. If she’d wanted to, she could have just bought premade candles but Rachel wanted an excuse to spend more time with Percy and she wanted to try out a new art form. Candle dipping didn’t appeal to her as much as painting did. 

</p><p>     Percy waggled his eyebrows at her. “Oh, really? I guess in that case, I’ll be spending the night here.” His tone was suggestive. 

</p><p>     Rachel flashed her boyfriend a warm smile. “Oh, yes. I need my big strong demigod boyfriend to keep me and my furs warm.” 

</p><p>     With the promise of rolling together in the furs that made up Rachel’s bed, the work went by faster. Or maybe they had just shaken off the sluggish monotony of repetition. Half an hour later, they were done dipping and all of the pots were mostly empty of wax. 

</p><p>     Percy hung up the last of their candles.

</p><p>     Rachel moved around and turned off all of the burners. 

</p><p>     When everything was taken care of for the night, they looked at each other. 

</p><p>     There was promise in Percy’s sea green eyes, warmth and affection, and desire for her. He stood, almost as tall as her ceiling, and moved to her. Percy cupped her cheek and kissed her full on the lips, not the teasing kisses from earlier but one that he poured all of his desire into. 

</p><p>     Rachel stood on her tiptoes, stretched her body along the hard length of his. She felt his muscles beneath his clothes, and knew the strength he contained. “I think it’s time for bed,” she said in a tone that implied they weren’t going to sleep.

</p><p>     The noise that Percy made in the back of his throat was almost a growl. He followed Rachel to the back of the cave where her bed platform was. It was dark back here, out of reach of the sun and the lamps she had near the entrance of the cave for guests. Percy squeezed her hand tightly, and his hand became cold and clammy. He never voiced his fear of such places but Rachel knew he had a fear of suffocating in a dark, enclosed (usually wet, though her cave was dry) space.

</p><p>      That was why she wanted the candles. There were plenty of niches on the walls to hold them and it would be terribly romantic. 

</p><p>     Percy’s desire to be with Rachel outweighed his fear of the dark space. 

</p><p>     Rachel led him confidently, having travelled this path many times over the past three years. She knew it even thought she was as blind as he was. Her knees touched the bed and Rachel guided Percy onto it with her. She kept him close, though she didn’t need to. 

</p><p>     Percy was practically on top of her. Part of it was how much he wanted her, but mostly it came from his desire to not lose contact when one of his senses was gone and he was uncomfortable. He settled on top of her, not even really doing anything at first. It took a few minutes of just laying there before Percy’s tense muscles relaxed. Another few minutes passed before Percy nuzzled her neck and then kissed the skin there. 

</p><p>     Rachel waited patiently. He had been through so much, so many terrible things, that she couldn’t bear to make things worse for him. She did her best to be there when Percy needed her and to not force him into anything he didn’t want to do. But when he kissed her neck, Rachel knew that Percy would be alright. She kissed the top of his head and then ran her hands over his shoulder blades. 

</p><p>     Percy lifted his head so that their mouths met. His kiss was full and warm. Despite earlier teasing, Percy kissed Rachel with a sweet tenderness that spoke of love rather than lust. 

</p><p>     It could have easily dissolved back into a more heated exchange but Rachel matched Percy’s tenderness and caressed his cheek. She liked the weight of him on her, the feeling of closeness. In the dark of the cave, laying on soft furs with the smell of melted candle wax in the air, she felt safe and some primal part of her was deeply content. 

</p><p>     It didn’t go farther than kissing that night. But that was alright. Rachel was happy to provide comfort against the suffocating darkness. 

</p><p>     The next day was colder but the wax was hardened. They prepared the candles to be used, then played video games until dinner. After dinner, they came back to Rachel’s cave. Dusk was upon them, the sky turning hazy blue. Rachel held Percy’s hand as they walked through the forest. 

</p><p>     The candles were ready to be lit. They gathered some in their arms and went to the back of the cave. It was just as far as before but now they were fumbling around for the niches in the walls. 

</p><p>     Percy took a silver zippo lighter from his pocket. The orange flame was bright in the darkness. He lit the first candle. The lighter had the initials L.C. scratched into the side. He didn’t offer an explanation and Rachel didn’t ask for one. 

</p><p>     They changed tactics, then. Rachel set up the candles and Percy followed behind her with the lighter to light them. The bed space got brighter and brighter until it was almost daylight. One hundred candles made a huge difference. 

</p><p>     When the last of the candles had been lit, Percy pocketed his lighter. He looked around, actually seeing the space for the first time. 

</p><p>     Rachel kept her eyes on him. His eyes, though still a deep green, reflected back the yellow of the candles. Men weren’t supposed to be called beautiful but Rachel thought that Percy was just that. She felt compelled to reach for him then, and wrapped her arms around his neck. Rachel kissed Percy’s throat from the hollow of it to the prickly skin beneath his chin. 

</p><p>     Percy made the growling noise which was practically a purr. He held Rachel, hands caressing her back and sides before dipping down to her butt and squeezing. When she kissed his chin, Percy ducked his head to meet her lips with his. 

</p><p>     They kissed for a long while before Percy pulled back. He gazed at her as though Rachel was a work of art. “The candles were worth it,” he said. Simple words and yet there was so much meaning packed into them. 

</p><p>     Rachel nodded agreement. She took Percy’s hands and pulled him to her bed. “It will be nice to actually see you,” she said, tone teasing but completely serious. Rachel pulled her sweater over her head for emphasis. 

</p><p>     Percy’s pupils noticeably dilated as he understood what she meant. They had been fumbling around in the dark back here for a long time. This place specifically because Apollo couldn’t see her bed. But now Percy and Rachel could actually see each other. And the thought excited both of them. 

</p><p>     The candlelight danced off their bodies as they worshipped each other.</p>
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